EFFICIENT PERFORMANCE MONITORING USING IPv6 CAPABILITIES
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring and recording performance levels of a data network, the method comprising the steps of:
- (1) initiating a data flow at a source node;
(2) forwarding said data flow through said network from said source node to said destination node;
(3) recording statistical information at said destination node, said information relating to a current performance level of said network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for obtaining and reporting performance information on node-to-node data transfers, i.e., network hops, based on integrated capabilities in Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), specifically extension headers. The performance of a (real-time) data flow is monitored between a source-destination pair by inserting specific information in an extension header of select data packets in the data flow. By initiating an extension header at a source client, and updating the extension header at any intermediate nodes along the source-destination path, a destination node can produce a detailed set of statistics relating to the current performance level of select nodes in a network based upon the reported data in the extension header. Additionally, data flow performance can be monitored on any desired network path or segment independent of particular flows on those paths.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring and recording performance levels of a data network, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) initiating a data flow at a source node; (2) forwarding said data flow through said network from said source node to said destination node; (3) recording statistical information at said destination node, said information relating to a current performance level of said network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for monitoring performance levels of individual nodes on a source-destination path in a data network, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) initiating at a source node a data flow to be delivered to a destination node, said data flow periodically including a packet with an extension header for reporting performance information; (2) forwarding packets associated with said data flow to said destination node through said data network; (3) determining at said destination node statistical information relating to a current performance level of said network. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A data structure embodied on a computer readable medium, said data structure comprising a hop-by-hop extension header as defined by Internet Protocol version 6, said extension header comprising:
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an option type field for reporting a type of said extension header; an option length field for reporting the length of said extension header; a sequence number field for indicating a position of a packet in a data flow; a number of node reports field for indicating a number of nodes in a network that have contributed data to said extension header; a number metrics field for indicating a number of pieces of data to be reported in said extension header; a node position field for indicating a position of reporting node in said network; identifier fields for indicating the types of data to be reported in said extension header; and data fields for reporting actual data corresponding to said identifier fields. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification